TECHNOLOGY. MEDIA. DEVELOPMENT

Update Jun 1, 2020 -- Our campaign titled #NotStatusQuo is well underway. The spread of the pandemic, and ensuing hardships because of the lockdown, revealed many gaps in the delivery of public services and social security schemes that hindered access to various relief measures announced by the central and state governments. These… More

At Gram Vaani, we believe in using appropriate technology and people driven processes to build participatory media networks that can empower communities. Our Theory of Change has organically evolved from the ground up and is… More

We've been in the news! Read more... and with over 150 projects cutting across diverse sectors, check out some of our latest updates, learning, impact stories, and opinions and thoughts from the ground. More

MOBILE VAANI: A SOCIAL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM FOR RURAL INDIA

We think of Mobile Vaani as a social social media platform for rural areas, ie. a social media platform meant for social development. This indeed captures our vision and motivation. The Mobile Vaani network not only enables over 800,000 households across 12 states of India to create their own voice media, but read our impact stories to understand how this platform actually leads to local action, greater awareness, and empowerment for development.

Click on the map markings to understand our network demography. Mobile Vaani is indeed unique that it reaches more BPL households, low literacy regions, and non-Internet users than any other media such as broadcast television or radio or print. And it does so in an interactive manner on voice, making it accessible to anybody who has a phone.

Partner with us to sponsor campaigns on social issues, advertise, run market research studies, share content and news stories, and work with us to grow the network.

THE DEVELOPMENT IMPERATIVE BEHIND MOBILE VAANI

Mobile phones have become instrumental in global efforts to drive awareness and encourage behavior change to build equitable societies across the world. Mobile Vaani has been at the forefront of doing this across India, reaching… More

Earlier this year, we wrote about what we learnt from working with partners to build gender equitable and healthy societies by using information and communication technologies. This time, we want to talk about our work with various… More

As we step into 2019 in earnest, it is time for some reflection: What were some interesting developments in the field of technology, especially ICTs, for development in 2018? What are the most unique and… More

MOBILE VAANI 2.0 INNOVATION CAMPAIGN

The demonetisation move may have been announced to herald the cashless era – indeed, the volume of electronic transactions increased 43 per cent from November to December 2016, as per Reserve Bank of India data… More

Watch the video for our 4-step approach to bring users onlineRocket Post is a telling example of India’s jugaad culture: over 11,000 people are subscribed to this news service in Uttar Pradesh that delivers hyper-local… More

Thousands of NGOs and development organisations across India interact with the grassroots everyday - with people, their influencers, their local leaders and government bodies - as part of their programmes. Only with the right communication,… More

An anganwadi worker says that food grains received in the centre haven’t been distributed to children and mothers it serves. Over 5,000 farmers haven’t received their insurance pay-outs from the government. A villager has been… More

LATEST NEWS AND PROJECTS

“India lives in its villages,” said one leader on Urimai Kural (“voice of rights”), broadcasting from Chennai on May 1, 2018. “But the villages are losing their grace. Whose fault is this? The government’s? Politicians’? No!… More

On February 28th 2017, the Indian government announced that students who wish to have midday meals in their government schools – a nationwide scheme targeted at increasing enrolment in schools – have to furnish their… More

by Vani Viswanathan Some 50 kilometres from Delhi – in Sonipat, Haryana – Surendar, a farmer, is wondering what to do about his lemon trees that have perished. Why did these trees die, while others… More

A fire that has been brewing underground for a century has eventually led to drastic changes to the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in Jharkhand. Coal mines under Dhanbad have been… More

by Vani Viswanathan Gaurang wants to know what is the process for getting a loan from a Microfinance Institution. Radha wonders why nearly one month since her application for a loan it hasn’t come through,… More

“There was much I didn’t know when I was within the four walls of my house,” said Manju Devi from Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand, an elected woman representative (EWR) from her village. “But there is… More

Namma Vaani is an IVR platform provided by Enable India. Run on Gram Vaani’s (OnionDev) Mobile Vaani platform, it caters to the information needs of persons with disabilities and has been piloted in Karnataka. His… More

by Vani Viswanathan Neha is a proud, beaming 16-year-old. Standing on the lawns outside Delhi’s India Gate, she speaks to the camera about how she is the first female volunteer with Jharkhand Mobile Vaani– a voice-based social… More

India has the highest number of maternal deaths in the world, an estimated 44,000 deaths every year. Despite 75% decline in the Maternal Mortality Ratio in India between 1990 and 2015, the maternal health crisis… More

The increased connectivity and technology penetration in India have opened up newer rural and urban markets for the businesses to tap into. The role of advertising becomes paramount for any business venture to reach out… More

Brimming with exuberance, 16 year old Neha Bhatt, Jharkhand Mobile Vaani’s (JMV) youngest reporter set off from her village in Baghmara block of Dhanbad district. Never stepped out of what Neha calls “Mahuda Zone” in… More

Meet our heroes who are creating an impact everyday in their community through Mobile Vaani. These are the citizen journalists from Mobile Vaani media clubs who have been collecting stories from the rural marginalized community… More

About the Mobile Vaani Impact series: Since 2012, Mobile Vaani has been reaching thousands of people in India’s vast hinterlands with news, views and information about health, banking, education, sanitation, sexuality, agriculture, government policies, etc.… More

Ganesh Mahto was one of the many unregistered internal migrants in India who died under ‘unnatural circumstances’ in 2013. Except his story was picked up and shared over Mobile Vaani (MV), causing a cascade of… More

Geographic, economic and social barriers make India's vast rural population an untapped market waiting to be explored. Our voice based community media network connects hundreds of thousands of people in rural India and provides a… More

When Community Manager Sultan Ahmad was planning to start a community media club in Darbhanga, he was looking for young people who could be agents of change in urban Bihar. He noticed that the community… More

The Economic Times has just released a rating of exciting startups to watch in 2014, and Gram Vaani is in the list! Original source here Industry: Technology for development What it offers: Gram Vaani is… More

Behaviour Change Communication or BCC is a comprehensive communication strategy that distributes a tailored message across a targeted group or community to encourage safer and healthier behaviour among them. The process uses a mix of… More

MSD for Mothers, a 10-year, US$500 million initiative to reduce maternal mortality, partnered with Gram Vaani and the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood to deliver its model in Jharkhand, a state with one of… More

GRAM VAANI'S SOLUTIONS FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Watch how we activate and engage new communities on Mobile Vaani

Listen to Gram Vaani's history and our vision with social media for the BoP